Mundane or Holy? 5 things my kids have taught me
I realized I’ve been trying to avoid the mundane in my life. I laughed out loud typing these words, because it’s impossible, yet I have been going for it full force. As I was feeling burnt out I now see I was chasing after excitement to do all the meaningful and important things and skip over anything repetitive or ordinary.
I’m sure you know what I mean. The activities you do every day that are required for the existence and health of yourself and your people. As a mom it’s meal prepping, dirty dishes, laundry, cleaning, putting them to nap and bed, listening to the Frozen soundtrack, (my husband randomly began singing, “for the first time in forever” while working on the couch next to me at 9pm at night..the struggle is real) building legos...and on and on. These things are a reality of my day, regardless if I cram a bunch of activities around them.
Recently I’ve made the decision to follow the ease in my life and have taken a close look at my “to-dos”. I’m looking at what I say yes to on a daily basis, and it’s largely the repetitive and mundane activities because I must. These “yes’s” feel hard and oftentimes dull. I watch myself try to race past them so I can get on to my big, important and world-changing commitments.
My dad said to me this weekend, “What if what we feel is in the way is actually the way?”
The way to a full and present life.
Instead of trying to race past the mundane tasks in search of excitement and something “out there,” what if I simply changed my lens to see the world “right here.”
I picked up Lysa Terkeurst’s book, The Best Yes, and she says this,
“Never despise the mundane. Embrace it. Unwrap it like a gift. And be one of the rare few who looks deeper than just the surface. See something more in the everyday. It’s there. We can learn right here, right now in the midst of all the daily” (p. 41).
“Unwrap it like a gift...”
So I’m doing just that. Here are little moments that have been tucked into my days that I’m choosing to unwrap as gifts instead of race past. I want to pause and embrace them, knowing they are fleeting but holy. They draw me to the present where God is actively on the move and molding my life. Maybe you can relate?
1. “Mom, you can still call me sweetheart even when I’m dressed like Batman.”
Says my 5 yo son. Gahhh - isn’t that true of our human condition. Even when I armor up to face the world and save those I love...can you still call me sweetheart? Thank you Father, God that you view me the same. May I never forget.
2. Sometimes you just need to put on a princess dress, twirl & let it go!
Do you remember what it feels like to twirl? The faster you go, the more your dress puffs up. You can’t help but feel beautiful and free. My 2 yo daughter does this on the daily. And yells, “Let it go!” Oh you know what song I’m talking about....somehow masterfully created so that it’s all tiny humans want to listen to all day every day. Could I learn to let go of what holds me down, remember that I’m seen and known and beautiful and twirl in that freedom. It seems to do wonders for my daughter.
3. Which puppy is your favorite? “All of dem!”
If you could have seen her face when I asked this question. She looked at me confused...as if to say, “favorite?” Why must I pick? When along the way did we decide the need to pick favorites? Can I remember to not impose this question on her or myself. What if I walked around with her eyes and simply loved indiscriminately?
4. “Snuggle two minutes?”
I always rush the naptime/bedtime routine so I can get on to my own things. And then she asks this. And I never regret my decision to lay back down next to her and snuggle just two more minutes. If I’m honest with myself, I needed a snuggle just as much as she did. Stopping to hug those I love feeds my soul in a way only the human touch can.
5. “Mom, I don’t know where all these words are coming from?”
Says my son who can’t seem to stop talking long enough to take a breath from the moment he wakes, until we have driven to, shopped at and come home from Target. Guys- that’s like 3 hours! And when I asked him for a moment of quiet, this was his response.
A friend mentioned her son had the same condition but instead of asking him to be quiet, she told me, “Well I know this is all I’m going to want when he’s an adolescent, so we’ve gotta keep the streak going.” Yes and Amen! May I always be a listening ear for his verbal processing. Lord knows that’s all I ever want!
I’d love to hear your mundane yet holy moments.